The hot, afternoon sun beat down on Professor Oak and his group of starting trainers. A few drops of sweat trickled down the Professor‘s face, who was intensely focused on the shaking Poke Ball a few feet before him. The Poliwag inside it was trying its hardest to resist capture, as the button in the center of the ball rapidly flashed and beeped with each movement. Professor Oak clenched his fist and gulped. It seemed like an eternity before the Poke Ball ceased motion. The Professor smiled as his eyes lit up when he was sure the Pokemon was captured, and then he approached it.

“I… think he did it..” Red’s voice was soft.

Professor Oak picked the ball up off the ground and held it out towards Red, Blue and Barclay, “Congratulations, you have been given a proper demonstration on how to catch Pokemon!”

A very large smile spread across Barclay’s face as he sprinted towards the Professor. Red, Blue, and their Pokemon followed.

“Hey,” Red turned to Blue, “that’s pretty cool that he has his own Pokemon now, isn’t it?” he innocently chuckled.

“Yeah, I guess so.” Blue’s arms were crossed. He didn’t appear to be enjoying himself.

Red gave quick questioned look to Blue’s flat, uninterested tone of voice before placing his attention back on Professor Oak, who handed Barclay the Poke Ball.

“Barclay, here is your brand new Pokemon! I told you you’d become a Pokemon trainer. I wasn’t going to let you down.” Professor Oak said with a sincere smile.

“Th-thank you so much Pro-Professor!” Barclay stuttered with excitement. He and the Professor proceeded to share a respectable handshake.

After Barclay and Professor Oak ended their handshake, Red approached Professor Oak with a question.

“So Professor, what is up next?”

“Ah, I’m glad you asked that Red, I have something very important to give to the three of you.”

Barclay broke his gaze from the Poke Ball as he, Red, and Blue all gave the Professor Oak their full attention. Even Charmander and Squirtle curiously stared at their trainers‘ mentor. He held his lab coat open and grabbed three red, rectangular devices from one of the inside pockets and distributed one to each trainer.

“These devices I’m giving you are called PokeDex’s,” He coughed to clear his throat, “they are Pokemon Encydlopedias. Whenever you capture a new Pokemon, it is scanned and its data is recorded. You can even check which moves your Pokemon has learned.”

“So why are you giving them to us?” Red questioned.

“Because I want the three of you to fill up these PokeDex’s and gather knowledge.” Professor Oak looked to all three boys as he made his statement, “It is a goal of mine to gain a better understanding of each Pokemon with data acquired through the PokeDex. I’m far too old now to carry out that goal myself, so I was hoping the three of you would lend a helping hand while you are out on your adventures.”

“I will, grandpa.” Blue stated with a serious tone in his voice.

“I’ll capture as many Pokemon as I can!” Barclay pumped his fist high in the air.

Professor Oak gave a heartfelt laugh to Red and Charmander’s interaction. He then gasped as something came to his mind, “Oh, I forgot one thing. Hold out your hands.”

The Professor proceeded to grab a handful of Poke Ball’s that had yet to be expanded to full size from one of the large pockets inside his lab coat. He gave five to each new Pokemon trainer.

“It would be pretty hard to catch Pokemon without Poke Balls, wouldn’t it?” Professor Oak and the group shared a quick laugh.

Their laugher was followed by an awkward silence accompanied by the sound of wind blowing and rustling the trees.

“Well, I guess we should all be heading out now, right?” Barclay asked Professor Oak, but it sounded like his question was directed towards the entire group.

“Actually Barclay, I would like you to accompany me back to my Pokemon lab.” Barclay questioned Professor Oak’s request with an odd facial expression, but he began to explain before the boy could ask why, “You’re new Poliwag needs to be healed before you set out on your journey. Not only would you be putting your Pokemon in danger if you set out right now and sent it into battle against a wild one, you would be putting yourself in danger as well.”

Barclay looked bummed out that he was going to have a lagging start to his journey behind Red and Blue, but he still couldn’t fight the Professor’s logic.

“Okay Professor, I’ll go back.” The boys spirits lifted to his normal optimism, “Hey, at least I’ll get a chance to show my family my Pokemon!”

“That’s the spirit,” Professor Oak chuckled before turning to Red and Blue, “as for you two, you may now begin your Pokemon journey. From here on out, you’re going to have to depend on yourself and your Pokemon.” He paused for a moment to look each boy in the eye with his serious gaze before continuing, “I am very proud of the two of you for becoming Pokemon trainers, and I wish you luck on your journey. Take care of yourself and your Pokemon.”

Professor Oak held his hand out for a handshake to Blue and then Red.

“Thank you, grandpa.”

“Thanks a lot, Professor Oak.”

“I shall now bid you adieu.” Professor Oak took one last look at the two new Pokemon trainers, and then to their Pokemon. Then he turned around and signaled Barclay to follow him.

Red and Blue silently watched Professor Oak and Barclay as they made their exit. They kept watching as the two slowly vanished with the view of the trees. Blue broke his gaze and began to fiddle with the buttons on his PokeDex. He knelt down to his Squirtle’s level and held the scanner to it.

Red felt his teeth grit as clenched his fists, having felt insulted. Still, he watched the demonstration in amazement as the PokeDex scanned Blue’s Squirtle. The turtle Pokemon jumped as it wasn’t expecting the bright light that quickly flashed over its body. The PokeDex beeped for a few moments as the screen began to load information. Once it loaded, a robotic voice read Squirtle’s information aloud.

“Squirtle. Water type Pokemon. Moves known: Bubble, Tackle, Withdraw. After birth, this Pokemon’s back swells into a hard shell, which it retreats into whenever it feels threatened. It sprays water from its mouth to defend itself.”

Blue shut the PokeDex and put the device back in his pocket. Red then proceeded to open his and scan Charmander. The bright light flashed over the reptilian Pokemon and his data loaded.

“Charmander. Fire type Pokemon. Moves known: Ember, Scratch, Growl. The fire that burns atop its tail from birth is an indication of its health. It burns brightly if it is healthy, and it would die if this fire was put out.”

“Eeek,” Red gulped at the thought of losing his Charmander, but he quickly shoved the thought from his mind. “Well, this sure is an interesting device, isn’t it?” He asked Blue, who was walking away with his Squirtle. Clearly the boy had lost interest in Red’s affairs and wished to set out in his journey. Red and Charmander ran in his direction, “Hey Blue wait up, where you going?”

Blue stopped and turned around, “I’m going to Viridian City, as I assume you will. Please don’t follow me.” he glared and continued walking before Red could say anything.

“Wait up man,” Red ignored Blue’s rudeness and grabbed his shoulder to gain his attention, “do you wanna have a Pokemon battle?”

Blue’s eyes lit up, and he seemed interested in the idea. He examined his Squirtle and then Red’s Charmander before meeting the boy’s inquisitive gaze, “A Pokemon battle sounds like a fair idea. Right here, right now.” Blue crossed his arms.

“Alright!” Red pumped his fist in agreement.

Blue chuckled as he, Red, and their respective Pokemon each paced a few steps away from each other to make room for the battle. Both trainers shot each other a confident look as they prepared for their first ever battle.

“I’m ready, how about you?” Blue asked as his Squirtle made its way onto the battlefield without having to be instructed. It clenched its tiny fists.

“Ready to go, Charmander?” Red looked down at his Pokemon, who jumped up and scratched at the air. A serious look overtook his eyes when he looked up to Red.

“Then let’s do this! Charmander, use Scratch!” Red pointed at the battlefield.

Charmander ran towards Squirtle with his claws raised in the air. When Charmander got close to his opponent, he attempted to strike. Squirtle spun around to dodge its opponent, a moment that seemed like slow motion. Red watched in awe as Charmander kept trying to scratch his opponent who gracefully maneuvered away from his attacks.

“I think it’s time to strike back. Squirtle, use Tackle attack!”

Squirtle nodded. When Charmander attempted one more scratch attack, it appeared as if the last attack was going to hit. This was proved wrong when the turtle Pokemon retreated its head into its shell. Charmander seemed taken back by the turtle Pokemon’s tactics. Squirtle then stuck its neck back out and jumped towards the fire Pokemon head first. The attack made full contact, and Charmander slid a few feet when he hit the ground. He laid before his trainers feet before getting back up.

“Charmander, try another Scratch attack!”

“Squirtle, use another Tackle!”

Both Pokemon obeyed their trainers and ran for each other at full speed. Charmander raised its claws in the air as his opponent dived towards him with another full body tackle. The reptilian Pokemon was too late on the draw, as Squirtle made contact before his claws could. The water Pokemon stood confidently as the fire type got back up again with an enraged look in his eyes.

“Charmander, use an Ember attack!”

Red’s command was said so fast, it was barely comprehendible. Charmander opened his mouth and released many small balls of fire. The straightforward attack even caught Blue by surprise who watched as his Pokemon helplessly held its ground against the fire attack.

“Squirtle, try a Bubble attack!”

“Keep up that Ember Charmander, we got this!” Red smiled and pumped his fist.

Squirtle attempted to attack, but Charmander’s fury of fire balls gave it no window. Blue grinded his teeth as he attempted to figure out a way out of this situation.

“Squirtle, use Withdraw!”

Squirtle retreated all of its limbs into its shell. Blue sighed in relief as the fire Pokemon ceased its attack now that Squirtle was protected inside its hard shell. A small yet confident smile spread across Blue’s face as he awaited Red’s next command.

“Alright Charmander, try another Scratch attack!”

“I was hoping for this,” Blue chuckled, “Squirtle, use a Bubble attack!”

Charmander charged for his opponent once more. When he neared his opponent and readied himself to strike, Squirtle popped its head out of its shell and released a cluster of clear blue bubbles from its mouth. Charmander ran into every single bubble, stopping him in his tracks. He stood weakened as the super effective move had clearly taken its toll. Squirtle came out of its shell once more and awaited further command.

“Alright, it’s time to wrap this up,” Blue confidently flipped his hair, “Squirtle, use a Tackle attack!”

“Charmander, try to fight back!”

A very worried look came over Red’s face as Squirtle ran towards its opponent full speed. He watched in horror as the water Pokemon rammed Charmander head first. Blue victoriously watched with a confident smile spread across his face as the fire opponent slid on the ground, defeated. Squirtle came back to his side, and they were both smiling with a confident look in their eyes. Red rushed towards his defeated Pokemon, “Charmander!”

Red knelt down and held his Pokemon in his arms. Charmander barely opened his eyes and looked up to his trainer, who was smiling, by surprise. However, his eyes still held a sad look with the loss of his first ever Pokemon match. Red then looked up to the victorious trainer, “Hey, that was a good battle!”

“Heh, keep telling yourself that, loser.” Blue sneered as he closed his eyes, turned his head and placed his hands on his hips. The overconfidence had overtaken not only him, but his Squirtle as well, who winked and stuck its tongue out.

“Hey, you don’t have to be rude about it!” Red yelled as he gave Blue a strong, angry glare. He began to grind his teeth.

“Ha ha, whatever. I don’t have time for the likes of you.”

Blue and Squirtle walked away laughing before Red could give another angry reply. He clenched his fist as his rival slowly left his view. The angry look in his eyes changed when he redirected his attention towards the defeated Charmander that laid in his arms. He worriedly gazed down at his Pokemon with his eyes glistening. Charmander met his trainers gaze, but his eyes were barely open and looked weak. There were marks all over his body from when he slid on the ground.